DAILY NEWS

Daily News – 20 Aug 2020 (Thu)

Singapore Real Estate

Wallich Residence 62% sold, 68 units left for sale
Wallich Residence, famed for Singapore’s most expensive penthouse, is 62 per cent sold. That means the 181-unit ultra-luxe project in the Central Business District still has 68 units for sale, said Cheng Hsing Yao, GuocoLand Singapore’s group managing director.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/wallich-residence-62-sold-68-units-left-for-sale

Original ideas for Guoco Midtown still relevant even in the new normal, says group MD
Given that Guoco Midtown on Beach Road was conceived back in 2018, long before the coronavirus outbreak, questions about whether the mega-project’s design needs a revamp today do not faze Cheng Hsing Yao, the group managing director of GuocoLand Singapore.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/original-ideas-for-guoco-midtown-still-relevant-even-in-the-new-normal-says-group-md
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/new-plans-unveiled-for-guoco-midtown

More buildings here going greener as 376 projects bag BCA’s Green Mark Award
An aircraft hanger at Changi Air Base which uses solar panels and retrofitting works at One Raffles Link which will achieve an overall cooling system efficiency to save the equivalent of S$120,000 a year are among projects that won awards from the Building and Construction Authority (BCA), as buildings go greener in Singapore.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real-estate/more-buildings-here-going-greener-as-376-projects-bag-bcas-green-mark-award
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/property/376-eco-friendly-projects-bag-bcas-green-mark-awards

More flat owners get help with mortgages
Nearly three times as many households received help with mortgage payments from April to June this year than in the same period last year, the Housing Board told The Straits Times yesterday. A total of 1,356 households in financial difficulties were assisted by the HDB during the second quarter of this year, compared with 517 households last year, as Singaporeans grapple with the economic impact of Covid-19.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/more-flat-owners-get-help-with-mortgages
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/housing/nearly-threefold-rise-in-number-of-households-getting-help-from-hdb

Singapore Economy

Singaporeans hold 43% of senior roles in financial sector: MAS chief
While Singapore citizens account for 70 per cent of senior management roles in retail banks’ local functions, the proportion comes down to about 43 per cent in relation to senior management jobs across the entire sector.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/banking-finance/singaporeans-hold-43-of-senior-roles-in-financial-sector-mas-chief
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/infographics/building-a-singapore-core-in-the-financial-sector
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/banking/mas-to-engage-financial-institutions-on-growing-their-sporean-workforce

Singapore sets example for Libor shift with ‘ground-breaking’ debt sale
Singapore is blazing a trail in the global effort to replace Libor, becoming one of the first countries to auction debt linked to an alternative benchmark. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) sold S$500 million of six-month notes with a spread over the compounded Singapore Overnight Rate Average on Tuesday. The country is adopting SORA as it moves away from the SGD Swap offer rate, which uses the London interbank offered rate in computation.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/banking-finance/singapore-sets-example-for-libor-shift-with-ground-breaking-debt-sale
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/banking/spore-leads-global-effort-to-exit-libor-with-debt-sale

Companies’ Brief

Millennium Hotels and Resorts cuts 159 more jobs
As the pandemic hobbles the global tourism industry, Millennium Hotels and Resorts (MHR) cut 159 jobs – or about 15 per cent of its Singapore-based workforce – on Wednesday, following earlier reductions in its foreign worker headcount over the course of this year.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/millennium-hotels-and-resorts-cuts-159-more-jobs
https://www.straitstimes.com/business/companies-markets/millennium-hotels-and-resorts-to-axe-159-jobs

Sabana Reit minority shareholders await MAS, SGX guidance on ESR-Reit merger
Quarz Capital Management said on Wednesday that it, together with other minority shareholders, looks forward to receiving guidance and support from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Singapore Exchange Regulation (SGX Regco) on the proposed merger between Sabana Shari’ah Compliant Industrial Real Estate Investment Trust (Sabana Reit) and ESR-Reit.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/sabana-reit-minority-shareholders-await-mas-sgx-guidance-on-esr-reit-merger

Corporate digest
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/companies-markets/corporate-digest-1200

Views, Reviews, Forum & Others

Nudge to transform as help tapers off
As the coronavirus pandemic drags on and the impact on businesses and jobs mounts, wage subsidies for employers to retain their local workers are being extended and will become more targeted. Under the $8 billion more in Government support that Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat announced on Monday, the Jobs Support Scheme (JSS) will continue until March next year.
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/st-editorial/nudge-to-transform-as-help-tapers-off-0

Singapore needs to encourage ESG integration to further financial hub ambitions
Sustainability in investing has come a long way over the past decade. Based on estimates by the Global Sustainable Investment Alliance (GSIA), assets of about US$30.6 trillion sat in sustainable investments in five major markets – the US, Europe, Japan, Australia/New Zealand and Canada – as at end-2017, a 34 per cent rise over a two-year period.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/singapore-needs-to-encourage-esg-integration-to-further-financial-hub-ambitions

Upscaling, cross-scaling eGSS to help businesses amid pandemic
Economies and businesses are being (if not already) reset to zero – in mahjong and casino terms, the deck’s reshuffled. This reset time is not going to be all “closed cards” where all the cards face down and we pick the cards blindly.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/opinion/upscaling-cross-scaling-egss-to-help-businesses-amid-pandemic

More heartfelt discussions on race needed, less reliance on policing
In Singapore, discussions on and management of societal fault lines are underpinned by the pursuit of harmony and cohesion. To effect this, the state has adopted a multi-pronged strategy, spanning wide-ranging community institutions, wielding firm leadership in scoping sensitive conversations, and acting as a final arbiter of contentious issues.
https://www.straitstimes.com/opinion/more-heartfelt-discussions-on-race-needed-less-reliance-on-policing-0

Janil, Sim Ann reappointed as PAP’s Whip and deputy Whip
The People’s Action Party has reappointed Dr Janil Puthucheary as party Whip and Ms Sim Ann as deputy party Whip. Dr Janil has served as party Whip since June 6 last year, when he took over from Trade and Industry Minister Chan Chun Sing, who has held the position since September 2015.
https://www.straitstimes.com/politics/janil-sim-ann-reappointed-as-paps-whip-and-deputy-whip

LifeSG app replaces Moments of Life; offers over 40 government e-services
A Singapore government smartphone app that provides services to users at various stages of their lives has been upgraded to give users access to more than 40 government services. he LifeSG app, the upgraded and rebranded government application which replaces the Moments of Life (MOL) app…
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/government-economy/lifesg-app-replaces-moments-of-life-offers-over-40-government-e-services
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/more-than-40-govt-e-services-available-on-rebranded-app

Northern coastal areas to form second nature park network
More than 400ha of wetlands, marshes, nature parks and eco-corridors along the northern coast, which include Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, the Kranji Marshes and the upcoming Mandai Mangrove and Mudflat Nature Park, have collectively become Singapore’s second nature park network.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/northern-coastal-areas-to-form-second-nature-park-network
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/sungei-buloh-nature-park-network

Update on COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) Situation

7-year-old girl among six imported Covid-19 cases
There were 93 new coronavirus cases confirmed yesterday, taking Singapore’s total to 56,031. A seven-year-old girl is among six imported Covid-19 patients. The Indian national is a dependant’s pass holder and arrived in Singapore from India on Aug 10.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/7-year-old-girl-among-six-imported-covid-19-cases

All migrant worker dorms declared clear of Covid-19
All dormitories were declared to be clear of Covid-19 as of yesterday, including the standalone blocks in purpose-built dormitories that served as isolation or quarantine facilities. “All residents in the standalone blocks have either completed their isolation or quarantine, or been moved to other government facilities depending on their health status,” said the Ministry of Manpower (MOM).
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/all-migrant-worker-dorms-declared-clear-of-covid-19

WHO urges nations to join global shared vaccine effort
Geneva • The World Health Organisation (WHO) has written to every country, urging them to quickly join its global shared vaccine programme – and spelt out who would get its eventual coronavirus jabs first. WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Tuesday said that without vaccinating the planet’s highest-risk populations simultaneously, it would be impossible to rebuild the global economy.
https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/who-urges-nations-to-join-global-shared-vaccine-effort

Experts fear long-term effect on mental health
The prolonged Covid-19 pandemic is likely to have a long-term effect on mental health, as stress levels rise with the uncertainty of the outbreak as well as the economic downturn it brings, experts have warned. Dr Cornelia Chee, head of the department of psychological medicine at the National University of Singapore and the National University Hospital, said that when it comes to Singapore’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, the “honeymoon” phase is long over.
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/experts-fear-long-term-effect-on-mental-health
https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/more-working-from-home-feel-stressed-than-those-on-covid-19-front-line

*For more information, please visit the Ministry of Health (MOH) website at www.moh.gov.sg and refer to go.gov.sg/mohupdates for updates on the COVID-19 (Coronavirus Disease 2019) situation